Denise Nappier, a Democrat, has been a good state treasurer these past 16 years. But the state needs more than a good manager in this job.

Connecticut needs a champion of fiscal responsibility who will sound the alarm about a dangerously underfunded pension system and lead the way to fiscal sanity.

The Courant endorses Republican Timothy Herbst for treasurer.

Why Not Ms. Nappier?

Credit goes to Ms. Nappier, 63, for repairing the reputation of the treasurer's office, smeared by her Republican predecessor Paul J. Silvester, who went to prison for extorting kickbacks.

She's made history as the first African-American female treasurer in the nation. She's hired top-notch people and been a thoughtful steward of $52 billion in state funds, including $27 billion in state retirement assets. She's invested in local firms owned by minorities and women and made corporations pay attention to such issues as excessive CEO pay and global warming.

The official minutes of the state's Investment Advisory Council show that the council rejected Nappier's request to make...

But Connecticut is on a reckless path. This state has the second most underfunded pension system in the nation, behind basket-case Illinois. Ms. Nappier has had to sell off assets to pay benefits.

She is not responsible for getting the state into this mess. Her job is to invest money, and she's done well despite the Great Recession. But she can't earn enough through investments to make up for the state's underfunding of its lavish benefits. Connecticut state retirees have the highest average annual pension of any state in the nation.

The legislature is the culprit. It allowed previous governors (two of them Republican) to skip the required full payments to the pension fund. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been better, making 100 percent of payments in fiscal 2012 and 2013. But the state is so far behind that it would have to pay $70 million in additional funds every year for 18 years to close the gap in just the state employees' pension system, according to The Day of New London.

Though Ms. Nappier is not directly responsible for the state's skimping on its pension obligations, she hasn't mounted a forceful campaign to get everyone to do the right thing.

Gov. Malloy was able to get some concessions from employee unions. But they won't make up for the decades in which state employees haven't been paying nearly enough into the system, or anything at all, for their gold-plated benefits.

The retirement package remains rich. Most people in the State Employee Retirement System (including legislators) contribute zero to 2 percent of their salaries toward their pensions, whereas the median nationally is 5.7 percent.

Connecticut needs a Gina Raimondo. The Rhode Island treasurer, a Democrat and a financier, told that state's voters in 2010 that the state couldn't maintain its pension promises. Through simple math and relentless advocacy, she got Rhode Island to rein in pensions and shift workers to a hybrid system of pensions and 401(k)-style accounts.

Why Mr. Herbst?

Timothy Herbst, 34, has done a laudable job strengthening Trumbull's finances as a popular first selectman in a small town with more registered Democrats than Republicans.

When he first took office, the town endured high taxes, a budget deficit and underfunded town pensions. He identified enough savings to eliminate the deficit, stabilized and then in 2012 slightly lowered taxes. He's moved new hires from traditional pensions to a 401(k)-style plan.

Because Mr. Herbst is a Republican, however, any campaign he might mount for changes like Rhode Island's would be ignored by the Democrats who control the legislature. To strike such a bargain, this state really needs a financial expert who is also a persuasive Democrat — a Ned Lamont (who once served on the treasurer's Investment Advisory Council) — in this office.

In the meantime, a Republican treasurer could make it difficult for the Democrats in power to ignore this ticking bomb. Mr. Herbst would have a steep learning curve, but he's a quick study and he would be a strong communicator.